How to launch a Rust application from Visual Studio Code?

In Visual Studio Code (VS Code), launching and running a Rust application is relatively straightforward, but it requires installing necessary tools and extensions beforehand. Below are the detailed steps:

Step 1: Install Rust

First, ensure Rust is installed on your system. You can install it by visiting the Rust official website and following the instructions. Rust's installation includes Cargo, which serves as Rust's package manager and build tool.

You can verify the installation by opening a terminal or command prompt and entering the following commands:

bash
rustc --version
cargo --version

Step 2: Install Visual Studio Code

If you haven't installed Visual Studio Code yet, you can download and install it from the Visual Studio Code official website.

Step 3: Install Rust Extensions

In VS Code, open the Extensions view (using the shortcut Ctrl+Shift+X), then search for and install the 'Rust' extension. Recommended extensions include:

• Rust (rls): This is the official Rust extension, providing features like code completion, IntelliSense, and error checking.
• crates: This extension helps manage dependencies in your Cargo.toml file.

Step 4: Create and Configure Rust Project

You can create a new Rust project by opening a terminal or command prompt and entering:

bash
cargo new my_project
cd my_project

This will create a new directory containing the basic Rust project structure.

Step 5: Open Project in VS Code

In VS Code, use File -> Open Folder to select and open your project folder.

Step 6: Build and Run

To build and run the Rust application, you can use the following Cargo commands in VS Code's integrated terminal:

bash
cargo build
cargo run

This will compile your project and run the generated executable.

Step 7: Debug Configuration (Optional)

If you wish to debug Rust programs in VS Code, you may need to install additional tools such as the CodeLLDB extension and configure the debugging settings. This typically involves creating a .vscode folder and a launch.json file to specify the debugging configuration.

Example: launch.json

json
{
    "version": "0.2.0",
    "configurations": [
        {
            "name": "Debug",
            "type": "lldb",
            "request": "launch",
            "program": "${workspaceFolder}/target/debug/my_project",
            "args": [],
            "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}"
        }
    ]
}

The above steps cover the basic process for launching and running Rust applications in Visual Studio Code. We hope this information is helpful for your interview!